Engine



Feb. 7, 1933. A. G. RONNING 1,896,754

ENGINE Original Filed Oct. 14, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fwz/enZor' j flnafrean G P07705229, med

ATTOR N EY Feb. 7, 1933. RONNING 1,896,754

ENGINE Original Filed Oct. 14, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Patent ed Feb. 7, 1933 ATENT 1 oF-FIcE ANDREAN e. RONNING, DECEASEDRLATE or MINNEAPOLIS, mimv'nsormrr ADOLPH mmune ANDJACOB A. RUNNING, JOINT exncuroas, or MINNEAroLrs, MINNE- SOTA ENGINE Original applicationfiled October 14, 1927, Serial ms. 226,199. Divided. and this application med August a, 1930. Serial No. 473,474.

. This invention relates to engines or'power units and the'primary object is to provide amachine in which the expansive properties of gases are utilized to run a power transmittmg element such as a rotatable shaft,

The present application is a division of a copending application Ser. No- 226,199, filed October 14, 1927, now Patent No. 1,776,374

issued Sept. 23, 1930 for combination land and air machine.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a vention, V

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machine, with various parts broken away and others shown in section for purpose of illustration.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on the line 22 in Fig. 1. i

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on the line 3'3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation about as on the line 44 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a detail elevation, as on the section line 5-5 in Fig. 1. 1

Referring to the drawings more particularly and by reference characters, 6 designates a shaft by which power is transmitted to mechanisms to be driven by the machine.

This shaft rests on thrust bearings 7 in a bearing boX 8, carried on a base. member or main frame9. The shaft 6 is driven bya large spur gear 10 that meshes with a simi lar gear 11 on a stub shaft 12. The shaft 12 is journaled in a bearing block 13 that also supports a generator 14. The bearing block is slidably arranged in the U-shaped yoke extension 15, of the base 9, and is spring held (toward the right, in Fig. 2) bysprings 16 and set screws 17 so that the gears 10 and 11 will always be held tightly in mesh. The generator 14 is primarily employed to supply current to, or to charge a battery (not shown), for the ignition system to supply ignition sparks or electric heat in the chambers 18 and 19.

" A rectangular plate20 placed over the adjoining sections of the gears 10 and 11, and is firmly pressed down upon the same, by bolts 21 having compression springs 22, thus firmly holding the gears in close contact with preferred embodiment of the in 24 in the gears. As the teeth-of the gears approach each other they close with or against a postor end wall 25Iof,the-,-base 9, with a 7 result that a confined" chamber D is formedby the two gears, the wall 25 andthe plate. members above and below the gears; -.It will now be seen that as the gears rotate, inthe gears then-mesh the teeth ofv each gearwill displace the air charges in the spaces of the other gear, with a result that the 'air in the to. direction of 'theearrows, the" spaces between the teeth will cause small charges of air to bepassed into thelchamberD, and, as 'the,

chambenD is constantly being replenished and compressed, and under such pressure can always under pressure, as 'isrequired in this is provided as a safety measure. A check valve 29 is provided in the conduit 26 toprevent a back pressure in the chamber D, and

only escape through a conduit 26 that leads to the fuel tank 27; 'Theifuel tankis thus .power unit, but a'pressure release valve 28.

the conduit is preferably alsoP OVided with a gauge 30 whereby the pressure vjinthe .sys

tem'may be observed at any time. f y

The cond it 26has a branch pipe 31 which supplies air under pressure to the .needle valve32 of a. burner "nozzle 33,- of the Diesel 7 type, and abranch 34,.controlled by a valve 35 supplies air under pressure to a noz zle iifi.

A fuel pipe 37 connects thefuel tank: 27 j to a needle; valve 38 of the nozzle 33'. Thus, the mixture of air and gas may. be .regu- .lated, as may be'found necessary- Thesupply of fuel proper isregulatedby a third needle valve 39. 1

Atthe outlet of the nozzle 33 is provided a burner mantle 40, and within the .mantleis afue'l preheating device consisting of a per-x forated, cup 41, about the inner-surface of' which is arranged a hot wire heatingelement When 42, connected to the ignition wires 43.

the. current is. turned on the cup 41 becomes very hot, and 'ignites the combustible gases Y i that are discharged. from-the nozzle 33, as;

such gases ejected throughthe perfora tions in. the 1 cup. After the mantle 40 has become thoroughly heated, and combustion is complete, the current to the 'preheater'may be switched ofi. i Y j The mantle 40 is preferably of the so-called Welsbach type consisting of" an asbestos woven fabric, formed of thorium dioxide (T1102) ninety-nine per cent, and cerium di? which connects the chambers 19-and 18. im-

mediately adjacent to the airf eed nozzle 36.

As the gases produced in. the chamber 19 are injected through the port 45, and under high pressure, against the compressed air stream 7 from the nozzle 36', the resulting mixture becomes combustible, and burns with an intense r heat in the chamber 1 8, some means such as a sparkplug 46 being employed to startvthe I combustion. vAs the burning :gases expand in the chamber 18, they-are forced through a conduit 47, to a chamber E, which is substantially identical with the previously de} comprising a base member, a pair of inter meshing gears mounted thereon, a pairv of end walls at opposite sides of the median line between the twogears, and a plate mem-j her in contact with the. gears andcombining V therewith and with said base and end walls to. form a pair of chambers, 1 bolt members extending from the base member and through the plate member, and adjustable springs "on said bolt members tending to close theplate and base member toward each other.

Signed at Minneapolis, Minnesota, this 4th day of August, 1930. I v 1 ADOLPH RONNING,

JACOB A. RONNING, J oz'nt E mecutors of Me Estate of Andrcdn Gi Roaming, deceased. v

scribed chamber D, but instead of being a 1 compression chamberfed-by the gears it is an expansion chamber inwhich" the expansive characteristics of thegases are utilized to'drive the gears by an operation, which 'is justthe reverse'of that in the chamber D.

It is understood that suitable modifications may beinade in the. generalde'sign and structural details of the invention herein shown and described, provided,however, that said modificati-ons come within the spirit and scope-of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully shown and described this invention, what is claimed to be new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

J 1. A device of the character.described hav-' 7 ing an expansion chamber defined in part by peripheralportionsiof a pair of'intermeshing .gears, andaclosure plate held in resilient contact therewith by adjustable springs.

2., A device "of the character described I comprising a chamber defined in part by peripheral portions of a pair of intermeshing gears, and a closure plate held in resilient contact therewith, said gears and plate being i provided with interlocking tongues and A device of the character described comprising a base member, a pair, of intermes h grooves to insure a sealing contact therebe- 1 I tween.

ing gears-'mountedthereon, a pair of-end walls at'opposite sides of the median line 7 between the'two gears, and aplate member I111 contact with the gears and combining therewith and withsaid base'and end walls to form a pair of chambers, and separately adj ustable spring devices for yieldably; press ing the'plate member against the gears. we A device of the character described 

